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Unearthing childhood – Q&A with Robin Derricourt

What book in this field has inspired you the most?

David F. Lancy’s The Anthropology of Childhood.

Did your research take you to any unexpected places?

Yes indeed: my exploration of the latest research and writing on children in prehistory revealed work and ideas on a breadth of interwoven topics; from my desk it transported me from Peru to the Arctic, from Ireland to Vietnam, from Congo to Tonga. And of course through time from 3 million years ago to the last century.

What did you enjoy the most about writing your book?

Discovering how pioneering colleagues throughout the world were addressing many of the same questions as each other about children and childhood. New methods – in archaeology, biological anthropology and other specialisations – are complementing new ideas and new questions as we re-examine what we thought we knew about the human past.

Is this your first published book, or have you had others published?

My ninth, I think.

Why did you choose to publish with MUP?

MUP have a welcome recent active commitment in archaeology publishing with an enviable reach to readers from other disciplines.

Have you had time to think about your next research project yet? What are you working on now?

One of my interests is the relationship between archaeology and history, and I am exploring this theme applied to the origins of different religions.